http://mmajunkie.comMany young fighters with good camps and solid management teams often are forced to make a tough decision: Sign with a major organization such as the UFC and risk a quick release, or stay on the regional fight circuit to get that crucial experience.

Rob Emerson found himself in such a situation in 2007, but after appearing on “The Ultimate Fighter 5″ and earning a UFC contract, he was thrown into the deep end.

Now, with a 3-2 record in the octagon and a recent UFC 109 victory over Phillipe Nover, Emerson is happy – and comfortable – to be swimming with the sharks.

“A lot of these guys are getting thrown in (the big organizations) with 10 or [fewer] fights,” Emerson, who defeated “TUF 8″ lightweight runner-up Nover, today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “But this is the major leagues. You can’t go from the high school to the Super Bowl. Getting in 15 fights if you can (before joining the UFC) is the best way to go.”

Emerson had the experience before he joined “TUF 5,” but he didn’t necessarily have the results that would predict a competitive career in the UFC.

“I went the opposite road and was thrown to the sharks,” he said. “But I also got a lot of experience from that. Whether something like that is going to work I guess depends on how hard-nosed and tough the guy is.”

And a quick peek at Emerson’s resume reveals some toughness.

The 28-year-old California native fought for King of the Cage and in Japan with Pancrase early in his career. He won as many as he lost and went 6-6, but the .500 record didn’t tell the whole story; Emerson fought notables such as Jens Pulver, Javier Vazquez and Dokonjonosuke Mishima all within his first four professional fights. It’s a gruesome stretch for any fighter, let alone an MMA rookie with no pro experience.

Emerson didn’t win a single bout, but there was a silver lining; none of those opponents finished Emerson, and Vazquez, in fact, could only muster a close split-decision win.

After some additional fights and an eventual split-decision loss to Melvin Guillard in 2005, Emerson’s record stood at a paltry 2-4. But four consecutive wins pushed him to 6-6 and earned him a spot on “TUF 5,” where he was eliminated in the first round of the 16-man tournament.

Emerson knew it was do-or-die time at the show’s live finale, and he figured his fate would be determined at the June 2007 event. Instead, Emerson re-injured his ribs and appeared on his way to a loss. But when opponent Gray Maynard slammed him to the mat, Maynard knocked out himself just as Emerson was forced to submit.

The result? A bizzare no-contest that gave Emerson a second life in the UFC.

Emerson made the most of it and edged Keita Nakamura via split decision and then scored a stunning 12-second knockout of “TUF 5″ runner-up Manny Gamburyan. It pushed Emerson’s win streak to six, moved his record to a respectable 8-6, and suddenly thrust him into some meaningful fights.

Unfortunately, though, Emerson then faltered with back-to-back losses to Kurt Pellegrino (submission) and Rafael dos Anjos (decision), and he braced for the worst.

“I said, ‘There goes my UFC career,'” Emerson said. “I was like, ‘Do I really want to go out like this? What else am I going to do in life?’

“But if you want to do your best, you’ve got to let yourself put that stuff out of your mind.”

Luckily, the UFC didn’t terminate his contract, and Emerson then got the fight with Nover. The three-rounder went to a decision, and Emerson had to escape some early trouble. But despite the comeback win, he found plenty of reasons to criticize his own performance.

Still, he knows he’s got the tools to contend with the best, and that’s why he wants to fight four or five times before year’s end.

“All of my problems are mental,” said Emerson, who plans to quickly return to camp to help training partner B.J. Penn get ready for his UFC 112 fight with Frankie Edgar. “I’ve got the gifts physically and the tools. I just need to be more aggressive. I’m really looking to cleaning out the lightweight division … improving my game even more and getting up there in the ranks.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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